Criminal
by CantansAvis
Summary: Alternate ending to 7x08 (and therefore spoilers!). Shawn mumbles something in his sleep, and Juliet decides to listen in. Will this change anything? One-shot.


***Psych belongs to the USA network. Not me. **

Juliet was furious. No, she was beyond furious. She was more mad than the geekiest comic book nerd who found that the movie of his favorite hero was a complete flop. She was _wicked_ angry.

Attempting to maintain a calm facade, she strolled into the lair of lies, the Psych office. This office space once provided her with awe, silliness, and fun times. Now it just made her angry.

She stopped in the doorway to the main area. Shawn, the man to whom she gave her love and trust, the weird guy who could make her laugh, face palm, and wonder in awe, all at the same time, was lying on the couch, making weird movements and mumbling.

Juliet considered waking him up, yelling at him from her current position. But his incessant murmuring ensnared her curiosity. She had seen his fatigue grow within the past couple days; he couldn't be more dead to the world if Rocky Balboa K.O.-ed him. Like a five-year-old playing spy, Juliet slipped off her heels and quietly crept up on the sleeping psychic, wait, no, liar.

Shawn was waving his arms in the air, like he was hugging something. And he had the cutest expression on his face... Juliet shook her head. She was mad at him. He was a liar. Honesty was more important than Shawn's cute face. Right?

Juliet leaned her head towards the sleeping face, ignoring his all-so-familiar smell. The unintelligible mumbling became clearer.

"...had to... ass on the line..." That crap again? Juliet was about to shake him awake when the name of her partner caught her attention.

"Call in... cases... solved... Lassiter... throw into clink..." Well, that was new. But he didn't need to keep up the damn lie. Juliet decided to keep listening.

"Still mad... thought left Mom... didn't even know... back in Santa Barbara... no help..." Juliet knew that Shawn and Henry had previous tensions before, but would Henry really let his son go to jail for helping solve cases? Well, knowing Shawn when he was mad, Juliet decided Shawn would be way too stubborn back then to accept his dad's help.

"Not cop... had fun... helping people..." Juliet smirked bitterly. Shawn and Gus had made horrible cops. But they were great investigators. She looked at Shawn's arms, which were still making a hugging, soothing motion. She wondered when they would get tired.

"Met you... so pretty..." He was dreaming about her? Explaining himself to her? Juliet internally yelled at the butterflies tickling her insides and the blush spreading across her cheeks.

"Didn't know... fall for you..." Why was she feeling guilty? He was the liar! She had the right to be mad.

"Wanted to tell... didn't know when... then your dad... your reaction... scared..." Juliet cringed. She could understand why Shawn would be hesitant to tell her. But how could he think it would be any better to keep the lie going?

"So sorry... I'm so sorry..." Juliet felt her heart crumble; she was so hurt, so confused. She pondered what to do. She wanted to forgive him. _So much_. But Shawn had a lesson to learn. Didn't he? Befuddled, Juliet shook her head, blond curls tickling Shawn nose.

"A-choo!" Juliet sat straight up, surprised. Shawn looked around, confused. "Jules?" Confusion tinged with hope shone bright in his eyes.

Juliet cleared her throat. "I came to talk to you."

"On the floor?" He sat up, his back against the armrest. "Without your shoes?"

"Never mind that. I... I can understand your situation." The hope shone brighter than the Sirius star in Shawn's hazel eyes.

"But... I need some time to think. You should... you should probably move out." The light died quicker and more completely than Juliet ever thought possible.

* * *

Juliet O'Hara had arrested many a murderer, thief, kidnapper, drug lord; low-down, scheming "scumbags", as Carlton put it. But never had she considered herself to be a worse person than those she arrested. Never had she committed a crime as heinous as building up a man's hope and then mercilessly crushing his heart.

There was no trial, no judgement, no hope of redemption. She'd gotten the life sentence several times over. She had not only given up the love of her life, but killed him too.

* * *

Sitting alone in her home, having read the same paragraph in her book at least six times, Juliet looked around the quiet, empty apartment, once filled with so much laughter, and wondered if she had any clue as to what she was doing.


End file.
